The 3Ds

The 3Ds
The 3Ds
Background information
Origin	Dunedin, New Zealand
Genres	Noise pop; indie rock;
Years active	1988–1997, 2009–2010
Labels	Flying Nun Records
Members	Dominic Stones; Denise Roughan; David Saunders; Dave Mitchell;

The 3Ds were a New Zealand noise pop band based from Dunedin, together from 1988 to 1997. They recorded three albums and several EPs, the best known of which is The Venus Trail (1993). They achieved commercial and critical success worldwide in the period between 1992 and 1995.^[1]

History

The band was formed in May 1988 by Dominic Stones, Denise Roughan and David Saunders. The band's name refers to the members' names all starting with "D". In 1989, they were joined by David Mitchell from Auckland bands Exploding Budgies and Goblin Mix, who introduced the twin-guitar attack which became the defining feature of the group. He also created all EP and album artwork apart from Fish Tales which featured a painting by Jane Davidson. Among their inspirations, in addition to the Pixies, they also consider Black Sabbath and Fairport Convention to be inspirations.^{[clarification needed]}

Their first recordings were demos, one of which, "Meluzina Man", became their first release on the 1990 compilation Xpressway Pileup. The band's first release for the Flying Nun label was the EP Fish Tales at the beginning of 1990, beginning a long collaboration with the label in Dunedin. Their second EP, Swarthy Songs for Swabs, and the first album, Hellzapoppin', were released over the next two years.^[1]

The first tour in the United States was in 1992, followed by an Australian tour with the Lemonheads.^[2]

In 1992, the band played with Nirvana in New Zealand.^[2]^[3]

Their second album was The Venus Trail, released in 1993. This included their best known singles "Hey Seuss" and "Beautiful Things."^[3]

In 1994, they returned to the U.S. for a three-month tour.^[3]

The 3Ds toured with Pavement in New Zealand and Australia. Following this, The 3Ds played two stadium shows supporting U2 on their Zoo TV tour in New Zealand.^[3] An associate of the band took a bottle of champagne from U2's dressing room without permission, leading the concert promoter to inform The 3Ds that they would not be paid for their performance. However, Bono was in the room at the time and insisted that The 3Ds be paid double, and given an additional bottle of champagne.^[4]

In 1997, the band released its third album, Strange News from the Angels.^[5]

The band announced it was splitting up in early 1997.^[1]

In July 2009, the 3Ds reformed to play two shows at the Merge Records 20th anniversary festival in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.^[6]

In 2010, the 3Ds toured New Zealand, including the inaugural Laneways festival.^[7] This was followed by an invitation to play at the Pavement-curated All Tomorrows Parties festival in the UK.^[8]

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Details	Peak chart positions
Year	Title	Details	NZ^[9]
1992	Hellzapoppin'	Label (NZ): Flying Nun Records Label (US): First Warning Records Catalogue: FN225	24
1993	The Venus Trail	Label (NZ): Flying Nun Records Label (US): First Warning Records Catalogue: FN281	12
1997	Strange News from the Angels	Label: Flying Nun Records Catalogue: FN351	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

EPs

Year	Title	Details	Peak chart positions
Year	Title	Details	NZ^[9]
1990	Fish Tales	Recorded in a Dunedin studio called Fish Street Studios in 1990. Label: Flying Nun Records Catalogue: FN150	—
1991	Swarthy Songs For Swabs	Label: Flying Nun Records Catalogue: FN167	—
1994	Caterwauling	Label: Flying Nun Records Catalogue: FN318	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilations

Year	Title	Details	Peak chart positions
Year	Title	Details	NZ^[9]
1991	Fish Tales/Swarthy Songs for Swabs	Label (NZ): Flying Nun Records Label (US): First Warning Records Catalogue: FN188	—
2011	We Bury The Living: Early Recordings 1989-90	Label (NZ): Flying Nun Records Catalogue: FNCD508	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Featured appearances

(1995) Abbasalutely (Flying Nun Records) - "Mama Mia"
(1997) Topless Women Talk About Their Lives (Flying Nun Records) - "Hey Seuss", "Animal" and "Spooky"
(1999) Scarfies (Flying Nun Records) - "Outer Space"

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions	Album
Year	Title	NZ^[9]	Album
1992	"Outer Space"	—	Hellzapoppin
1993	"Beautiful Things"	49	The Venus Trail
1993	"Hey Seuss"	—	The Venus Trail
1996	"Dust"	—	Strange News from the Angels
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

^[10]

Members

Dominic Stones — drums
Denise Roughan — bass guitar, keyboards, tambourine, vocals
David Saunders — guitar, vocals
David Mitchell — guitar, mandolin, vocals

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "The 3Ds". Flyingnun.co.nz. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Behind the scenes of Nirvana's only Australian tour". www.fasterlouder.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Music News, Views And All The Latest From Junkee". Junkee.com. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
^ Axver, Matthias; Muehlbradt, Andre (4 December 1993). "U2 Auckland, 1993-12-04, Western Springs Stadium, ZOO TV Tour - U2 on tour". U2gigs.com. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
^ "3Ds - Strange News From The Angels". Discogs.com. 4 October 1997. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
^ "3Ds". Flyingout.co.nz. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
^ "2010 » Laneway Festival '20". Lanewayfestival.com. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
^ "21 New Artists added to Pavement ATP Line-up". Atpfestival.com. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "3Ds discography". Charts.nz. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
^ "3Ds". Discogs.com. Retrieved 25 March 2020.